Barcelona 2017/18

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Messi & Suarez get a rest and Deulofeu not in the squad and is he is rumoured to be close to a loan move (Presumably to one of Napoli, AC or Inter)
 
Infordin said:
Safe to say that we haven’t quite declined in the way everyone was predicting is to? ;)

There’s still room for improvement though. Hopefully we buy Arthur in January and clear the deadwood (Turan, Gomes).
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I think the decline is evident: Barca have come back to this universe after a near-decade on planet Zog!

They no longer look in a universe of their own compared to the competition - whatsoever. Still excellent and up there with the best though.

Impossible to replace a Messi when that happens.

Question; are Barca likely to drop their interest in Griezmann if they sign Coutinho or will they go for both?

The way Barca have reacted to losing Neymar vs what United did when they lost Ronaldo is quite striking. A lot of United’s problems can be traced back to that period of sheer negligence.
 
KingMinger22 said:
I think the decline is evident: Barca have come back to this universe after a near-decade on planet Zog!

They no longer look in a universe of their own compared to the competition - whatsoever. Still excellent and up there with the best though.

Impossible to replace a Messi when that happens.

Question; are Barca likely to drop their interest in Griezmann if they sign Coutinho or will they go for both?

The way Barca have reacted to losing Neymar vs what United did when they lost Ronaldo is quite striking. A lot of United’s problems can be traced back to that period of sheer negligence.
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This. We didn’t act like a big club and it cost us and still is.
 
KingMinger22 said:
I think the decline is evident: Barca have come back to this universe after a near-decade on planet Zog!

They no longer look in a universe of their own compared to the competition - whatsoever. Still excellent and up there with the best though.

Impossible to replace a Messi when that happens.

Question; are Barca likely to drop their interest in Griezmann if they sign Coutinho or will they go for both?

The way Barca have reacted to losing Neymar vs what United did when they lost Ronaldo is quite striking. A lot of United’s problems can be traced back to that period of sheer negligence.
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Barca will definitely go for both. Suarez is only getting older.

I think Barca are going to enter their best period since the Pep days. They already have the best defense in Europe.
 
Dembele - Suarez - Messi
Coutinho - Busquets - Roberto
Alba - Umtiti - Pique - Semedo
MATS​

:drool:

The best XI in Europe? ;)
 
While i'm not sure Dembele or Coutinho are worth the price they paid, you cant deny that they've addressed two key positions which they were lacking in
 
Infordin said:
Dembele - Suarez - Messi
Coutinho - Busquets - Roberto
Alba - Umtiti - Pique - Semedo
MATS​

:drool:

The best XI in Europe? ;)
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Do you think with the will move to a 433 now. Or stick with the diamond?.

Also who do you expect to get more game time in the RCM position. Roberto or Rakitic?.

When Barcelona signed Rakitic I thought it would have been and underwhelming signing. But from the games I’ve seen he’s actually proven quite a good signing.
 
Infordin said:
Dembele - Suarez - Messi
Coutinho - Busquets - Roberto
Alba - Umtiti - Pique - Semedo
MATS​

:drool:

The best XI in Europe? ;)
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If you sign Griezmann, where would he play? Instead of Suarez?

And that is a formidable starting 11. How do you feel about the depth below that?
 
OneUnited24 said:
While i'm not sure Dembele or Coutinho are worth the price they paid, you cant deny that they've addressed two key positions which they were lacking in
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Yeah I've have in the past raised doubts in the past about signing, but this may help them overcome their tendency to get overrun in midfield by a high intensity press as coutinho is one of the most gifted players around with the ball at feet. The question for me is whether coutinho can show that he can be an elite midfield playmaker. I'm not entirely convinced his passing is that good but maybe that'll show now. I've sent him more as an attacker and I don't think Barcelona need a central attacker.

Dembele is one for the future but fits Barcelona perfectly. A real gem of a young player.
 
Interestingly enough I think they would be perhaps the most lethal counterattacking side in Europe if they played like that instead of the possession philosophy instilled by Cryuff. Their team is definitely ridiculous either way right now though.

Suarez - Messi
Coutinho - Busquets - Iniesta - Dembele
Alba - Umtiti - Pique - Semedo
Ter Stegen
​
You could also shift that into a 433 easily too, I just really like the look of a 442 on paper I guess.
 
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These feckers bought O. Dembele and P. Coutinho, what the feck. How about that for adding firepower to your squad eh? I'm getting annoyed by the immense appeal of Real/Barca, once one of them shows interest 9 out of 10 times the player chooses them.
 
VorZakone said:
These feckers bought O. Dembele and P. Coutinho, what the feck. How about that for adding firepower to your squad eh? I'm getting annoyed by the immense appeal of Real/Barca, once one of them shows interest 9 out of 10 times the player chooses them.
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For that to happen they had to sacrifice a tremendous player to be fair. But honestly this is the strongest they've looked in ages, they've used the Neymar money well and filled two holes with two top quality additions, I can't see anything but Coutinho being a huge success for them, he's tailor made for La Liga.
 
VorZakone said:
These feckers bought O. Dembele and P. Coutinho, what the feck. How about that for adding firepower to your squad eh? I'm getting annoyed by the immense appeal of Real/Barca, once one of them shows interest 9 out of 10 times the player chooses them.
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I can understand being annoyed if other clubs were willing to sign those players but who else was interested in Coutinho/Dembelé ?
 
Barcelona is playing 4-4-2 all season, Suarez & Messi "don't defend" but with 2 lines of 4 players both the wings and centre are protected. (with the 4-3-3 moving Messi to the right, the right full-back is not protected and in away tough games is a problem (see last season vs PSG & Juve), this is fixed with the 4-4-2.

Valverde is playing like this now:

-----------T.Stegen
S.Roberto Pique Umtiti Alba
Rakitic Busquets Paulinho Iniesta
--------Messi Suarez

Coutinho will replace Iniesta in some games, but the system is not gonna change, it would be stupid at this point.

I don't see Dembele as a starter yet. Maybe in some easy league games, but with both Rakitic and Paulinho in the starting 11 the team has proven to be very solid, so in the CL matches this is the team that will start I think.
 
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I wonder how the arrival of Coutinho will help Luis Suarez, who has been struggling with his first touch and lost quite a bit of pace, it will be interesting to see if his decline was due to having to operate in less space or if he is slowly going past his prime. Also, if Dembele turns out to be the player many people think he has the potential to be, Messi Coutinho and Ousmane might just become the scariest front three in La Liga history.
 
Luke1995 said:
I wonder how the arrival of Coutinho will help Luis Suarez, who has been struggling with his first touch and lost quite a bit of pace, it will be interesting to see if his decline was due to having to operate in less space or if he is slowly going past his prime. Also, if Dembele turns out to be the player many people think he has the potential to be, Messi Coutinho and Ousmane might just become the scariest front three in La Liga history.
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Not a patch on MSN.

They'll never get close because individually they're not as good and by the time Dembele reaches his peak, Messi will be far away from his.
 
I think Barcelona should continue with a 442 and play:

ter Stegen
Roberto Pique Umtiti Alba
Dembele Rakitic Busquets Coutinho
Messi Suarez

Which could easily change into a 433 or 442 diamond in game, with Messi playing as a false 9.

ter Stegen
Roberto Pique Umtiti Alba
Rakitic Busquets Coutinho
Dembele Messi Suarez
 
El Jefe said:
Not a patch on MSN.

They'll never get close because individually they're not as good and by the time Dembele reaches his peak, Messi will be far away from his.
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Not sure about the Messi part, he can play at a high level until 40 based on passing ability alone, but I reckon that he would be rested way more often when he gets past 32.
 
El Jefe said:
Not a patch on MSN.

They'll never get close because individually they're not as good and by the time Dembele reaches his peak, Messi will be far away from his.
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Not sure about that...Don't get me wrong, Neymar is a good player, but I always thought he is a bit overestimated. If I could pick a offensive player from PSG's squad I would choose Kylian Mbappé any day. Dembele was injured, it is possible that he takes a simillar development. Fantastic skillset, impressed me a lot more than Sane in the Bundesliga.
 
Barcelona have been switching between a straight 442 when forced to defend, and a 21412/3412/3421/21421 when in possession, and won't change since both Coutinho and Dembele fit well into that
 
Infordin said:
Dembele - Suarez - Messi
Coutinho - Busquets - Roberto
Alba - Umtiti - Pique - Semedo
MATS​

:drool:

The best XI in Europe? ;)
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Think they are just one of many good/decent ones. Messi really is what puts them up there with Real, PSG & Bayern, but otherwise they aren't really looking above the others on paper.

Not gonna look up who plays more and I've likely forgotten tons, but making assumptions on injury-plagued players and checking that name-spelling isn't insanely far off, but from the top of my head:

Real Madrid:
Benzema
Ronaldo - Isco - Asensio
Modric - Kroos
Marcelo - Ramos - Varane - Carvajal
Navas

Quality alternatives: Casemiro, Kovacic & Bale
​
Bayern Munchen:
Lewandowski
Coman - Rodriguez - Muller
Martinez - Thiago
Alaba - Hummels - Boateng - Kimmich
Neuer

Quality alternatives: Ribery, Tolissio, Vidal, Sule & Robben
​
PSG:

Neymar - Cavani - M'bappe
Pastore - Verratti - Motta
Kurzawa - Silva - Marquinhos - Alves
Areola

Quality alternatives: Draxler, Moura, Di Maria, Meunier & Rabiot
​
Juventus:
(no clue how they line up or who they use these days)

Higuain
Dybala
Sandro - Marchisio - Pjanic - Khedira - Cuadrado
Chiellini - Barzagli - Howedes
Buffon

Quality alternatives: Asamoah, Sciglio, Matuidi, Costa, Szczesny, Rugani, Lichtsteiner, Bernadeschi & Benatia
​
Manchester City:
Sane - Aguero - Sterling
KdB - Silva
Fernandinho
Mendy - Otamendi - Kompany - Walker
Ederson

Quality alternatives: Jesus, Silva, Gundogan, Danilo, Stones & Delph
​
Manchester United:
Martial - Lukaku - Rashford
Pogba - Lingard
Matic
Young - Smalling - Bailly - Valencia
De Gea

Quality alternatives: Well, you should know.​
 
Barca looks like the best team in the World again.

Coutinho will fit Barca like a glove.

Rakitic has been a sensation in midfield for Barca soooo underrated.. Xavi/Iniesta who!?

With Real Madrid's ageing stars and their inability to replace them (Benzema should of been binned ruthlessly years ago) I mean what will it take for them to replace goal-a-game Ronaldo (they have to do it sooner or later he is 34 next month and even if he plays until 40 that is only 6 years of declining-each-year Ronaldo to serve up) in this current market!? 300M I'd say easily.

Barca have a young squad and if they manage to get a striker to replace Suarez in the summer they are set for a period of dominance for years in La Liga atleast. Real Madrid can't seem to match their spending.. when was the last Galactico Madrid brought!? James? that's ages ago the market has changed dramatically since then. Gotta keep up or get left behind ! Florentino Perez needs to step aside for a young, hungrier president who will take that club forward.
 
When making this 11s you should put them considering what the coach does instead of your football manager mode.

For example, Real Madrid always plays with Casemiro-Modric-Kroos and then Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale. Isco only enters when Bale is injured.

Why Valverde would switch from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 when the 4-4-2 is working perfect and the 4-3-3 defensively is unbalanced because Messi doesn't cover the right wing. Just for puting all the "start names" in the 11? Football is not like that.
 
RedStrudel76 said:
Barca looks like the best team in the World again.

Coutinho will fit Barca like a glove.

Rakitic has been a sensation in midfield for Barca soooo underrated.. Xavi/Iniesta who!?

With Real Madrid's ageing stars and their inability to replace them (Benzema should of been binned ruthlessly years ago) I mean what will it take for them to replace goal-a-game Ronaldo in this current market!? 300M I'd say easily.

Barca have a young squad and if they manage to get a striker to replace Suarez in the summer they are set for a period of dominance for years in La Liga atleast. Real Madrid can't seem to match their spending.. when was the last Galactico Madrid brought!? James? that's ages ago the market has changed.
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Do they really?
I don't really see it.
Surely PSG looks the best on-paper team right now alongside Real & Bayern?
If we're taking ageing into account, then Messi fading will be the hardest one to replace and also the one that makes Barca look like they'll be able to fight alongside Real, Bayern & PSG. And that's before we take teams that are ticking well like City right now into it and tactically hard teams like Atletico, Juventus, Chelsea and ourselves.
 
Ødegaard said:
Do they really?
I don't really see it.
Surely PSG looks the best on-paper team right now alongside Real & Bayern?
If we're taking ageing into account, then Messi fading will be the hardest one to replace and also the one that makes Barca look like they'll be able to fight alongside Real, Bayern & PSG. And that's before we take teams that are ticking well like City right now into it and tactically hard teams like Atletico, Juventus, Chelsea and ourselves.
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PSG will get found out against Real Madrid in the CL I reckon. Overrated. Bayern are not as strong this season.

Manc City haven't won/prove owt yet, they haven't beaten one of the Big Boys in Europe yet to "arrive". To become the best, you have to beat the best ! if they thrash Real Madrid I'd say put them in the mix but they haven't done anything like that. Don't count the PL I'm talking the best of the best in Europe

Ronaldo will retire before Messi, Messi can extend his career an extra few years due to his play-making ability.
 
RedStrudel76 said:
PSG will get found out against Real Madrid in the CL I reckon. Overrated. Bayern are not as strong this season.

Manc City haven't won/prove owt yet, they haven't beaten one of the Big Boys in Europe yet to "arrive". To become the best, you have to beat the best ! if they thrash Real Madrid I'd say put them in the mix but they haven't done anything like that. Don't count the PL I'm talking the best of the best in Europe.
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Still, Barcelona isn't really as good as it's old self, Coutinho while a great player isn't better than Iniesta before his decline, and as talented as Dembele is he's a clear downgrade on Neymar. Suarez is a worse version of himself and both Roberto & Alba are meh at best.
I simply don't think Barcelona are so good that the should be hold at a tier of their own. At best they'll be in the top tier alongside PSG, Real Madrid & Bayern for me.
 
FCBarca said:
Dembélé to start :D
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What a boost for Barca when confidence is high and they are flying ! will take him awhile to get match fit (so don't expect too much from the lad yet) but just to see him out on the pitch is a massive lift that he will be match-fit at the business end of the season.
 
I think people are a tad over rating barca by saying they are the best side in Europe. Form wise yes. But a lot depends on dembele and whether he actually lives up to his hype. 100 plus for him is too much so he has to perform. Let us not forget eventually they have to replace Suarez and then Messi (which will be really really tough) so they must start thinking to replace those two eventually.
 
AshRK said:
I think people are a tad over rating barca by saying they are the best side in Europe. Form wise yes. But a lot depends on dembele and whether he actually lives up to his hype. 100 plus for him is too much so he has to perform. Let us not forget eventually they have to replace Suarez and then Messi (which will be really really tough) so they must start thinking to replace those two eventually.
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Imo securing Coutinho could be major factor in them remaining force to behold. He's natural Iniesta replacement and will give them that creativity spark from Midfield that Leo was filling in. I won't be surprised if Leo now drops further up the field, benefiting a lot from now having Coutinho taking care of playmaking.
 
A blessing in disguise that Neymar's release clause was triggered by PSG. Money invested nicely and has a much better team than last year.

Real has a mountain to climb now. Knowing Perez, he will spend 500 m this year
 
Rajma said:
Imo securing Coutinho could be major factor in them remaining force to behold. He's natural Iniesta replacement and will give them that creativity spark from Midfield that Leo was filling in. I won't be surprised if Leo now drops further up the field, benefiting a lot from now having Coutinho taking care of playmaking.
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Coutinho is a smart buy but I still feel dembele has to live to his hype. Let us not forget he is replacing neymar so he has to perform really well.
 
AshRK said:
Coutinho is a smart buy but I still feel dembele has to live to his hype. Let us not forget he is replacing neymar so he has to perform really well.
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He will need some time, he is not a finished player yet - could turn out to be a Götze as well....:)
 
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